Midnight Lies (Shifter Island #2) - Raye Wagner Page 0,59
late-night pack meetings in the conjoined building. Mack and I would sneak down and try to listen in.
I followed after my dad, seeing the space with fresh eyes. The dark wood floors were worn in patches with plenty of gouges from wolves’ nails, and the ceiling here seemed lower after living in the castle-like dorm—even if ours had been rundown and dirty. But the walls had a fresh coat of paint, and the couches were comfortable and clean. One by one, dad took our guests to their rooms, promising fresh clothes and towels, which were promptly delivered by Lona.
My childhood home felt alien after being away. Kaja and Fiona got right into the kitchen to help Lona while I settled Elaine into the guest bedroom so she could freshen up. Unfortunately, Gramps wasn’t here yet, so we were just going to have to wait until he came. I decided not to panic … yet.
Dad skipped past my room with a sigh, causing me to raise one eyebrow, but before I could ask, he opened the door to another guest room and waved Rage and me inside. It hit me then … he didn’t take us to my room because it only had a twin bed. He was willing to let Rage and me share a bed, recognizing we were fated mates.
Whoa.
“You two can share this room.” My dad gestured to the queen bed, and then he shook his head—again.
“Uh, thanks.” I was too terrified to say anything.
“Nai, we should talk. There are some things about the past you should know—especially about your mother.” My dad indicated I follow him down the hall and away from the room, and I turned, both eager and terrified, to finally hear the whole story of that fateful night.
Rage squeezed my hand and then let go, stepping past me to enter the guest room, but my father held his hand out to stop him. “You too, son. This is as much your family’s story as it is hers.”
A stone sank in my stomach. How much did my dad know? Had he been there that night?
He stepped away from the bedroom and said, “Let’s go to my study.”
We followed my father down the stairs and into his office. After Rage and I were seated on the worn, brown leather sofa, Dad pulled his office chair out to sit in front of us. I’d spent hours, almost every single day, growing up on this couch, drawing, braiding my Barbie doll’s hair, and doing homework with Mack. But this was different…
“So fated mates?” my dad said, again, with wild eyes, looking more than slightly horrified.
Poor guy was probably in shock, so much info at once. Who could blame him?
Rage cleared his throat. “I feel I should tell you … I’m nothing like my uncle. I’ll do everything I can to protect Nai, and I respect her. More than that, I love her.”
My dad nodded, and his features relaxed—slightly. “Thank you for saying that.”
Awkwardness crawled under my skin, and before this could go to any further levels, I brought us back on topic. “So … about my mom…?”
My dad rolled out his neck. “Right … so what do you already know?”
I caught him up on the mid-year games, Honor’s death, and how Rage and I had made a trip to the Realm of the Dead where we saw my mom and funcle together, holding hands. Then I raced through the brief almost-respite at John and Sara’s, the selkie detour, and the skirmish with King Douche before adding what Elaine told us in the car.
Dad absorbed it all quietly, and when I finally finished, he nodded. “My brother Mackay was a troubled man those last few years. Even though he was alpha, he’d disappear for days on end. I can’t tell you how many times over those three years he said he didn’t want to be alpha and had me take over duties while he was gone. I knew he was keeping secrets, but I didn’t know what to do. I wasn’t going to fight him for alpha status, I loved him too much—and even though your aunt Lilith raged about his absence, she wasn’t strong enough to do anything—at least not while Mackay and I were around.”
Clenching my own hands, I leaned forward. My father had never spoken of any of this. Ever. My breathing grew shallow, and my heart raced. The entire world disappeared as the truth of my birth was slowly unfurled.